Permit Required Confined Spaces

Many of you that followed my incident alerts may remember the transformer manufacturer that had a fatal PRCS accident that killed two workers and left a third injured back at the end of 2015. The three people were working on a transformer in the plant and were found unresponsive. Unofficial sources said the transformer was…...

The state of Washington’s OSHA has published their DRAFT standard on Confined Spaces.  The standard pretty closely mirrors federal OSHA’s 1926.1201-.1213; however, the OSHA standards in WA must be written in a much more simplified manner, thus we end up with a standard that is easier to read and WA-OSHA does an EXCELLENT job explaining…...

An elevator superintendent, 41, suffocated when his lifeline tangled in an unguarded and rotating auger. OSHA investigators determined three workers, including the elevator superintendent, had been standing over the unguarded auger using a pole in an attempt to dislodge soybean debris in a grain bin that contained more than 50,000 bushels of soybeans sloped 12…...

The company specializes in the cleaning of gasoline and gasoline tanks for gasoline retailers. On December 30 and 31, 2014, OSHA’s Compliance Officer (CSHO) conducted an inspection following a fatal accident at that worksite. An employee died after being found unresponsive at the bottom of a well containing a submersible turbine pump (STP) at a…...

UPDATE 4/29/2017 from OSHA Case File: At approximately 2:30 p.m. on March 19, 2016, an employee was checking an argon purge inside of a process vessel. The employee was overcome by an oxygen deficient atmosphere and fell 10-feet to the platform below. The employee suffered from possible spinal injury from the fall, and asphyxiation and was…...

Cal/OSHA has cited a metal processing company $73,105 for serious safety violations following a March 13, 2016 confined space accident in which a worker was asphyxiated.  Cal/OSHA investigators found the company failed to comply with confined space regulations that resulted in the serious illness. On March 13, a supervisor sent an untrained production assistant into a…...

OSHA has issued two (2) citations to a construction contractor for $14,000 after an employee died within a permit-required confined space on 12/7/2015.  The company is contesting the citations.  The citations involved:… Membership Required You must be a member to access this content.View Membership LevelsAlready a member? Log in here...

Safety Order 01 Item 001 Type of Violation: Serious; $5,000 29 CFR 1910.146(c)(7)(i): A space classified by the employer as a permit-required coufined space may be reclassified as a non-permit coufined space under the following procedures: If the permit space poses no actual or potential atmospheric hazards and if all hazards within the space are…...

For those who have been adamant and faithful followers of 1910.146, know that the standard requires the Entry Supervisor to verify rescue services are available and that the means for summoning them are operable BEFORE he/she signs the entry permit and allows entry to begin.  Although we get a lot of pushback on this, as many…...

Permit-required confined spaces can present conditions that are immediately dangerous to workers’ lives or health if not properly identified, evaluated, tested and controlled. OSHA has developed a standard for Confined Spaces in Construction (29 CFR 1926 Subpart AA) for any space that meets all of the following criteria: Is large enough for a worker to…...